


Wedding Bell Black and Blues

by sinnerforhire



Series: Bears 'verse [4]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alcohol, Grumpy Jensen, Hurt Jared Padalecki, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:26:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9683159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinnerforhire/pseuds/sinnerforhire
Summary: Jensen takes Jared as his date to a wedding. The night does not go the way Jensen has planned.





	

Jared dashes through the door of the coffee shop, trailing a backpack from one shoulder. He drops it as he slides into the seat across from Jensen. “Shit, sorry…I’m late,” he gasps, clearly attempting to catch his breath. 

Jensen hands over a half-melted caramel mocha frappe with collapsed whipped cream. “I can have them make you another one,” he offers. 

Jared shakes his head. “No, ‘s fine.”

Jensen reaches out and rests a hand on Jared’s arm. “Hey, relax. I’m not going anywhere.” 

“I hate being late,” grumbles Jared. “But I got out of the office late, and I got stuck behind a school bus, and then there was no place to park, so—” He shakes his head and takes a sip of his drink. “I’m sorry.”

Jensen takes a long draught of his coffee. He’s been trying to make it last, but Jared’s finally here.

“I’m starving,” says Jared. “I’m gonna get a sandwich. You want anything?”

Jensen finishes off his coffee and hands over the cup. “Refill on the dark roast, please.”

Jared grins, his cheeks still pink from cold and exertion. “You got it.”

He returns a few minutes later with a pretzel sandwich and Jensen’s cup. He hands it over. “You take it black, right?”

“Damn straight.” Jensen pulls the lid off to let the steam dissipate. The reason he loves this place so much is that the coffee is still fresh and steaming hot at 5 in the afternoon.

“So, what’d you want to talk about?” asks Jared, swiping at an errant glob of mayonnaise at the corner of his mouth. Jensen hands over a napkin—he got extras, just in case—and Jared accepts it gratefully. 

“Okay, so…” Jensen takes a deep breath. “I know it’s way too soon for this, considering that we haven’t even had a second date yet, and I don’t want to pressure you into anything, but my college roommate is getting married next weekend—” He rolls his eyes. “Fucking Valentine’s weekend, because he’s a fucking sap.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, I was gonna drag Danneel along, but I’d much rather take you.”

Jared’s cheeks turn even redder. “You want _me_ to be your date? I’m, like, the worst dancer in the world, and I barely drink.”

Jensen chuckles. “Well, I’m a pretty decent dancer, and I definitely plan to take advantage of the open bar, so I think we’re a perfect fit. You got a suit?”

“I’ve got my graduation suit,” replies Jared. “It’s kind of ugly.” 

“We can fix that.” Jensen sips his coffee. “I’ve got a friend who owes me a favor.”

“He’s not, like, in the Mob, right?”

Jensen nearly chokes on his drink. “No, he’s not in the Mob, although he’d probably want me to tell you he is. He’s an aspiring rock star with a day job at Cocoa Couture.”

“How do those two things go together?” asks Jared, brows knit together in confusion.

“He played enough weddings to get the shop owner’s attention.” Jensen puts the lid back on his cup. “Can you meet me there tomorrow around 6:00?”

Jared nods. “Yeah, sure.”

Jensen smiles and pats Jared’s arm in what he hopes is reassurance. “The wedding’s at the Holiday Inn in Grantville and I’ve got a room. All you have to do is show up and have a good time.”

“Okay.” Jared nods and sets his jaw. “I can do that.”

* * *

Jensen leads Jared into the ballroom. Jared’s eyes widen when he sees the large wooden dance floor. He clutches Jensen’s hand hard enough to hurt. “I don’t know about this…”

Jensen slings an arm around Jared’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get some liquid courage into you.”

“I really don’t drink much,” protests Jared as Jensen steers him to the bar. 

“Now’s as good a time as any to start.” Jensen orders them each a rum and coke and hands one glass to Jared. “Come on, our seats are over by the cake.”

Jensen downs half of his drink in one gulp, while Jared tentatively sips his. “You know, I’ve never asked, but how old are you, exactly?”

“Twenty-six. Why?”

“So you are not only old enough to drink, you’re old enough to have been to college.” Jensen takes Jared’s hand and clinks their glasses together. “Don’t tell me you’re a college graduate who never once got drunk.”

“I’ve gotten drunk plenty of times,” argues Jared. “I just don’t think it’s that much fun.”

“You a mean drunk or a miserable one?”

Jared shrugs. “Neither. It’s just—I’m a klutz when I’m sober, so when I’m drunk, it’s a million times worse. And ER nurses don’t look kindly on drunk college students.”

Jensen opens his mouth to say something and takes a swig of his drink instead. “You know what, I don’t even wanna know.”

They get to their table and Jensen pulls out Jared’s chair for him, which makes Jared blush. The cake is just off to their right, a five-tiered affair covered in purple flowers and black paw prints with bride- and groom-attired golden retrievers on top. Matt’s a vet at an animal shelter, and his new wife was one of the volunteers. 

Applause breaks out, and Jensen turns to see Matt, Mandy, and their three dogs walk through the door. Jensen puts down his drink and stands up, so Jared follows suit. The happy couple and even happier canines make their way to the head table. 

“You wanna say hello?” asks Jared, sipping nervously at his drink.

Jensen waves a hand. “Later. They’ll start bringing the food around soon.”

Jared noticeably brightens at that. A few minutes later, servers start coming around with canapés and salads. Jensen finishes his drink and goes back for another one. Jared’s not even halfway done with his. 

They eat their appetizers and salads and chat with the other guests at their table, Matt’s sister and her boyfriend and Mandy’s cousins, who came together. The main course comes around shortly after—crab-stuffed salmon and asparagus Hollandaise. Jared pokes at it with his fork and frowns. “There’s crab in this?”

“Yeah,” replies Jensen. “Shit, are you allergic?”

Jared nods glumly. Jensen stands up, but Jared clutches his wrist and pulls him back down into his seat. “Don’t worry about it.” 

“There’s gotta be something else, a vegetarian option or something,” says Jensen. “Are you sure you don’t—”

“I’m sure,” Jared states firmly. 

“You want my asparagus?” asks Jensen, feeling guilty that there doesn’t seem to be anything else he can do.

Jared nods, so Jensen piles it onto his plate. He takes Jared’s fish for himself, not wanting it to go to waste. Jared takes one bite of the asparagus and reaches for his drink. By the time he’s eaten half the vegetables, he’s finished his drink. Jensen gestures at his empty glass. “Want me to get you some water or soda or something?”

“Another one of those, please, and water,” answers Jared. Jensen pats him on the shoulder as he leaves the table. 

Jensen comes back with the two drinks and sets them down in front of Jared. Jared’s eaten most of the asparagus by now, but he grabs the water glass and drinks it straight down, and then reaches for the rum and coke. Jensen clasps his wrist gently. “Hey, take it easy.”

Jared glares at him and bolts down the rum and coke. He blinks a few times and hands the empty glass to Jensen. “More?”

“Not yet,” replies Jensen. He finishes his own drink and stands up. “I’m gonna go say hi to Matt. You wanna come?”

“No thanks.” Jared stands up too. “I’m just gonna go to the restroom.”

Jensen watches him leave with a frown. He’s pretty sure something’s going on, but he’s not sure what. But Jared’s out of sight, so Jensen goes over to the head table to congratulate his friends.

After a few minutes, he returns to the table to see Jared with what looks to be straight whiskey. He arches an eyebrow. “Okay, I’m cutting you off.”

“Y’can’t do th’t,” mumbles Jared. “‘m an adult.”

Jensen pulls Jared out of his chair. “Come on, we’re gonna go dance.” He takes the drink out of Jared’s hand and pointedly sets it on the table. Jared sways a little, but lets Jensen lead him onto the dance floor.

One song ends and the next song to come on is Nelly’s ”Hot in Herre,” which is a weird choice for a wedding, but then, Matt always did have terrible taste in music. Jensen starts moving to the beat and Jared follows suit after a few seconds. Jensen grabs hold of Jared’s wrists to keep him from flailing his errant limbs into anyone else’s personal space. 

After a minute, Jared kind of relaxes into it and starts looking like he’s having a good time. Jensen moves in closer and rests Jared’s wrists on his own shoulders and stops just short of actually grinding on Jared. Jared’s unruly curls fall over his eyes and next thing Jensen knows, they’re both on the floor.

“Shit! You all right?” Jensen untangles himself from Jared and scoots toward the edge of the dance floor.

“Um…not exactly.”

Jensen frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“I kinda twisted my ankle, I think.” Jared bites his lip. “Help me up?”

Jensen scrambles to his feet and gingerly lifts Jared off the floor. Jared tries to put weight on his bad ankle and winces. Jensen pulls Jared’s arm over his shoulder. “Okay, there’s a chair right over there,” he says, pointing at the closest chair. Jensen helps Jared limp to the chair. He sinks down into it with a groan. 

Jensen pulls the neighboring chair out and turns it to face Jared. “Do you think you need to go to the ER?”

Jared shakes his head so hard his hair flops over his eyes. “It’s not broken.”

“You sure?”

“Believe me, I’ve broken enough bones to know.” Jared leans back in the chair, his face as red as the wine on the table next to them. “Just take me up to our room?”

Jensen stands up. “I gotta check us in. Give me, like, ten minutes.”

Jared nods. “I’ll be here.”

Jensen rushes out to the lobby and goes through the check-in process at lightning speed. He runs out to the car and grabs their luggage. Luckily, they’re on the first floor, so Jensen just stows the suitcases in their room and goes back for Jared.

Jared’s sitting with his chin on his chest. He looks up when Jensen approaches. “We got a room?”

“We’ve got a room.” Jensen pulls Jared’s arm over his shoulder and lifts him off the chair. Jared half-limps, half-hops down the hall to their room and collapses on the bed once they’re inside.

Jensen grabs the ice bucket and puts Jared’s suitcase on the chair next to the bed. “If you can, get changed. I’m gonna get ice.”

“Ice would be good.” Jared rolls across the bed and unzips his suitcase. 

Jensen goes down the hall and fills the ice bucket to the top. When he gets back to the room, Jared’s lying on the bed, propped up on pillows, with only boxers and a t-shirt on. Jensen takes the trash can liner out of the can next to the bed and fills it with half the ice. He ties it off and gently places it on Jared’s injured ankle, which is swollen to twice its normal size and beet-red. He frowns. “That looks pretty bad, Jared.”

“It’s just a bad sprain,” replies Jared with a sigh. “I have an Aircast and crutches at home.”

Jensen strips off his own clothes and sits down on the bed in just his undershirt and boxers. “I’m sorry you had such a shitty night,” he says quietly, settling in next to Jared and sliding an arm around his shoulders.

Jared shrugs. “This is the kinda shit that happens to me when I go out.”

“Then maybe we’ll just have to stay in from now on.”

Jared stares at Jensen with wide eyes. “You mean you still want to go out with me?”

It’s Jensen’s turn to stare. “I’m not gonna dump you just because our night got cut short.” He looks down at the mattress. “Not when it’s mostly my fault.”

“How is it your fault?” asks Jared, sounding genuinely confused.

“I’m the one who didn’t think to tell you about the meal ahead of time,” replies Jensen. “I’m the one who pressured you to drink, and then to dance. And I’m the one who asked you to go to a wedding with a bunch of strangers.”

“I’m not blaming you for any of that.” Jared plants a sloppy kiss on Jensen’s cheek. “I should have asked about the food. I shouldn’t have gotten the last few drinks. I’m the socially awkward klutz who thought he could date someone completely out of his league. I mean, shit, you’re a fucking Greek god in human form who has a grown-up job that I can’t even begin to understand. I don’t know why I ever thought I was remotely good enough for you.”

“Hey, hey, hold on here.” Jensen sits up and turns to face Jared. “I’m nowhere near as perfect as you think, and I’m certainly not ‘out of your league’! I mean, have you looked at yourself lately? You’ve got biceps bigger than my head, and you’ve got those fucking adorable dimples, and your teeth are, like, toothpaste-ad perfect, and you’re funny and sweet and so much fun to hang out with…” Jensen kisses Jared, who tastes of lemon and whiskey, and runs his fingers through Jared’s shaggy bangs. “I’m just a coffee addict who runs numbers for a living because he can’t deal with stupid people. I really ain’t that great.”

Jared cups the back of Jensen’s neck and draws him in until there’s no space left between them. “I don’t know, you seem pretty great to me.”


End file.
